Brad Pitt reveals his message to every F1 driver before shooting ‘F1’ movie

Before Brad Pitt started shooting the F1 movie, he sat down with the entire grid at the British Grand Prix. The A-lister made the highly unusual move of joining the closed drivers’ briefing ahead of the race at Silverstone in 2023, where production was set to begin.

In an interview with GQ, Pitt revealed he told the drivers, “if we’re ever in the way, just tell us to f**k off.”

By this point, he and his co-star, Damson Idris, had spent time training at Le Castellet in the South of France, and at several tracks in the UK. However, the pair shocked the F1 world when they nonchalantly strolled out to the grid alongside the real drivers, and stood beside them during the national anthem.

Five days later, however, the SAG-AFTRA strike began, and filming halted.

“We got to Silverstone, which, my God, is a glorious track and became like a home for us and then we’re off and running, and we’re ready! We’re on the grid standing next to the actual racers,” Pitt recalled.

“The telecast is going to cut us out, but our cameras are going to get us all, we’re a part of it. We have this amazing weekend. Everything goes like clockwork. Everything’s sublime.

Brad Pitt on the grid for the filming of F1

Lubomir Asenov / Motorsport Images

“Everyone’s on a high adrenaline rush. We pull this thing off! I drove in front of 80,000 people in the stands on that day. I didn’t c**k up the car, didn’t put it in the wall, didn’t beach it, everything was good! And then the strike happens, and I was gutted.”

He went on, “I didn’t know what to do with myself. I was bumping into walls. I was like, Oh man, man, we have this push and we had this — here we go! And then all of a sudden someone said: Cut.”

The strike, which lasted for 118 days, wasn’t all bad news for Pitt, however, who was quite pleased with getting “a whole nother year” behind the wheel of the modified Formula 2 cars used in the film.

When they returned to Silverstone the following year, he and Idris had a renewed sense of confidence.

“In 2023 I felt like I was in someone else’s court, someone else’s home and just was really humble and kind of shy about it,” Pitt explained.

“I had such reverence for these guys and this sport. But by the next year shooting there, it just felt like it was our own home and we were just so integrated into just the framework of the ecosystem that it was really nice.”

The F1 movie arrives in cinemas next month.

Photos from Spanish GP – Thursday

Ryo Hirakawa, Haas F1 Team

Peter Fox / Getty Images

Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber, Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber

Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber

Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

George Russell, Mercedes

Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images via Getty Images

Ferrari SF-25, front wing

Roberto Chinchero

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing

Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images via Getty Images

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing

Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Pierre Gasly, Alpine

Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images via Getty Images

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing

Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images via Getty Images

Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team

Peter Fox / Getty Images

Frederic Vasseur, Ferrari

Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images via Getty Images

Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls

Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team

Peter Fox / Getty Images

Lando Norris, McLaren

Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images

George Russell, Mercedes

Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Pierre Gasly, Alpine

Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images via Getty Images

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing

Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images via Getty Images

Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images via Getty Images

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images via Getty Images

Lando Norris, McLaren

Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images via Getty Images

Ryo Hirakawa, Haas F1 Team

Peter Fox / Getty Images

Pierre Gasly, Alpine, Franco Colapinto, Alpine

Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images via Getty Images

Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber

Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing

Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images via Getty Images

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team, Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team

Peter Fox / Getty Images

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing

Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images via Getty Images

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images via Getty Images

Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls

Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images via Getty Images

Ryo Hirakawa, Haas F1 Team

Peter Fox / Getty Images

Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team

Peter Fox / Getty Images

Ryo Hirakawa, Haas F1 Team

Peter Fox / Getty Images

Alex Albon, Williams

Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team

Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Gabriel Bortoleto, Kick Sauber

Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes

Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images via Getty Images

Franco Colapinto, Alpine

Peter Fox / Getty Images

Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber, Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber

Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Franco Colapinto, Alpine

Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images via Getty Images

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team

Peter Fox / Getty Images

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team

Peter Fox / Getty Images

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images via Getty Images

Pierre Gasly, Alpine

Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images via Getty Images

George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images via Getty Images

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing

Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images via Getty Images

Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber

Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

George Russell, Mercedes

Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images via Getty Images

Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls

Red Bull Content Pool

Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing

Red Bull Content Pool

Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls

Red Bull Content Pool

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Red Bull Content Pool

Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls

Red Bull Content Pool

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Red Bull Content Pool

Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing

Red Bull Content Pool

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Red Bull Content Pool

Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing

Red Bull Content Pool

Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls

Red Bull Content Pool

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

Franco Colapinto, Alpine

Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images

Read Also:

Here’s what every Formula 1 driver thought of Brad Pitt’s ‘F1’ movie

Lewis Hamilton “nervous” to show other drivers the ‘F1’ movie he helped produce

To read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website.